1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods of harvesting algae for the production of biofuel, bioenergy, supplemented animal feed, food supplements, and algae oil.
2. Description of Related Art
Algae biomass shows great promise as a renewable fossil fuel replacement and as a food supplement. There is need in the art for a low cost, effective method for harvesting algae biomass and making it available as fuel or food. However, harvesting of algae from water or other liquids is currently a difficult process due to the physical properties and nature of algae. Many existing methods of harvesting algae focus on isolation of the algae itself. Thus, when mechanical or physical methods of harvesting algae from water are used, these processes include the additional difficult step of further separating the algae from the filtering substances utilized in the method. Such separation often involves the use of undesirable solvents or detergents. Other methods of harvesting algae utilize chemical or mechanical means of flocculation, centrifugation, or sedimentation to facilitate skimming of algae from the surface of the algae water or collection of algae sediment. Some methods also produce an algae paste, which then must be dried and re-divided for further processing. Many existing methods also require specially cultured algae, which requires extra nutrients and manipulation of the algae source, adding further difficulties to the process. Thus, there remains a need in the art for methods of harvesting algae that do not involve the drawbacks of existing algae harvesting processes.